Birch Polypore.... Tinder?

[The Big Lebowski]

Otherwise know as razor strop fungus if i'm right...
Has anyone used it to succsess firelighting? i've just done a search and found it is used to extend an ember, but will t take a spark directly once dried?

Was pointed out two nice fresh hand size specimens today (of several on the rotted trunk) but i'm not shure how to prepere them, or what to expect once dried!

Grateful for any advice, TBL.

 

[Zingmo]

I have played with this stuff a lot as it is much more common around here than the knusk. However I can only ever remember it taking a spark once and that was a pile of shavings that were only a few molecules thick. Mostly I involve a piece of this when my tinder is about to go out but the dry grass/paper /wood shavings haven't caught yet. It just goes on glowing!

However, just tonight I came across this page and decided to try charring the dried up pieces of polypore. So I stuffed some into my trusty treacle tin and popped it onto the embers in the log burner. The jet of burning gases was quite impressive. The resulting substance does take a spark like charcloth, but it is brittle and fragile so would have to be transported in a tin or it would just end up as dust. Sorry not to have piccies but the camera battery just went flat.

I understand that other folk on here swear by polypore just dried but I can't say I would bother when I have a good supply of (canvas) charcloth.

Keep experimenting!

Z

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Cheers for that Z... very informative!

Its one of those 'on the list' things i wanted to try at some stage but some was pointed out to me today as we came back from a camp so i thought why not give it a go.

I've made a good 4x2" strop block out of one, the rest is drying in shavings now. It has a very strange smell, kind of antiseptic with a tinge of highly flamable and the smell got incredibly strong towards the end of chopping, so-much it was burning my nose.

I'll have a play with it and see what happen's, interesting that you charred it, have you considered trying just the power? it may amalgamate when hot/lit and give you a larger ember... or not. just a thought.

Cheers, TBL.

 

[Toddy]

Wrong fungus to try this with.
It's a good extender, but it's not good for taking a spark.

Fomes is the spark catcher, or diocentrica.

Piptoporus betullina is mildly antiseptic. It's the one that can be used to make elastoplast type bandages, and a little bit can be chewed to ease a sore throat or to kill hunger pangs.

It smoulders away well too when it's dry, can carry an ember. It doesn't burn well though if it's dried out fast in the oven. It shrinks then and without any air spaces it's too dense.
Unfortunately it's a favourite munchy for all sorts of insect pests once it is dry, so it needs to be kept an eye on.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Cheers toddy, I guess its on to the next then!

Regards, al.

 

[Rumi]

Birch Polypore is an important medicinal plant, and for bushcrafters on extended periods in the wilderness it could be lifesaving.

The medicinal properties are many but in the main its uses for bushcrafters are its antibacterial, antibiotic, antimicrobial, anti parasitic and anti-inflammatory properties. One aspect which makes it particularly relevant to bushcrafters is its anti parasitic properties, it is particularly effective against intestinal parasites which spread through a mix of poor hygiene and the consumption of poorly cooked game and/or badly sterilized water. Another use which bushcrafters would also find invaluable is styptic effect which means that strips of the polypore fungi could be used as a wound dressing which has all the above effects as well as stopping bleeding.

It has also been found to have an effect in blocking the reproduction of HIV in the body, Betulinic Acid is a constituent of the fungi is effective against malignant melanomas and actively attacks these cells while ignoring healthy cells.

One of the most interesting and intriguing aspects of this fungus is that a number of small pieces were found threaded onto pieces of hide attached to the clothing of Ötzi, the ice man, it is also known that he suffered from intestinal parasites. I'm not conjecturing anything, but knowing how advanced the medical knowledge is of some hunter gatherers it is possible that our ancestors had a greater understanding of the plants around them than we can even begin to grasp.

 

[JonathanD]

They do make excellent plasters. Better than bought ones.

They go hard but still retain flexibility after two hours, so will stay put on their own.

Must have worn out a whole firesteel trying to get one to take a spark though.




.

 

[Rumi]

Really good example, I posted the post below in top 10 medicinal plants. Could you do the same Jonathan D?

 

[JonathanD]

Really good example, I posted the post below in top 10 medicinal plants. Could you do the same Jonathan D?

Done. .

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Interesting reading guy's and very informative post rumi!

Tinder wise it may not be ideal, but on a first aid basis, or homepathic remedy, i now know where to look

I do love some of the information you pick up from here, invaluable.

TBL.

 

[Rumi]

Its not a homeopathic remedy though it may be used as such. The medicinal properties are extracted from the fungus by decocting which means boiling it in water which renders a bitter liquid which is drunk when cool. The content of the fluid is a sizable quantity rather than a trace as in homeopathy.

 

[Rumi]

One Fungi you may not have considered for tinder is a large perennial polypore which is relatively common throughout the UK with a wide distribution. I have found dead specimens weighing 4-5 kg. It works really well as an extender and will extend an ember from a bow drill, amadou, Daldinia Concentrica and char cloth. This property means that for people like me who are reliant on trading for Amadou can reduce the amount of Amadou required to catch a spark right down to a piece no bigger that a thumbnail.

Phellinus igniarius (false tinder fungus) looks similar to Fomes fomentarius (Amadou) and can be worked in the same way to produce a much poorer quality Amadou like felt. But to be honest I would only suggest you do this if you have nothing better to do. A better way to use Phellinus igniarius (false tinder fungus) is either as a coal extender, coal carrier or as a bow drill hearth!!

If you use Phellinus igniarius (false tinder fungus) for a bow drill hearth you don't even need a notch, simply use a spindle to get the heat up and that is it the ember will run into the fungus and away you go.

Phellinus igniarius also has medicinal properties, but should only be used under guidance from a qualified practitioner.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Again... A very interesting read Rumi.

I'm pretty sure we have large amounts of Phellinus igniarius in this area, otherwise know as artists fungus? Which i take it is different from horse-hoof fungus, the producer of amadou as I've been told... but please correct me if this is wrong.

(I'll add some piccy's later)

I collected some recently for a friend, returning to the site approx 3 weeks later only to find it re-growning, so i took another section out of curiosity (its growing back again now) and this was, what i 'think' just one massive section of what i thought was amaodu. Getting to it was really simple, i just peeled off the soft top section as it had not hardened, trimmed off the white undersection and had a large mass of brown velvet 'cork' which takes a spark pretty easily (as well as cramp balls, sometimes half a dozen strikes) and once burning produces a slowly growing ember that gets hotter and hotter as it burns.

I'm fairly new to this, so excuse the loose description.

I never thought about using this to extend a bowdrill ember, i didnt even really understand what extending an ember was until now really!

Good timing as i was having problems with a bow drill ember and getting it to light tinder.

Another day, another lesson

Regards, TBL.

 

[Rumi]

I'm pretty sure we have large amounts of Phellinus igniarius in this area, otherwise know as artists fungus? Which i take it is different from horse-hoof fungus, the producer of amadou as I've been told... but please correct me if this is wrong.

Artists fungus is Ganoderma applanatum, but if it too lights easily from a spark then that is good to know of, though it is rare. It is found predominantly on Beech.

Phellinus igniarius is found mainly on Willow and Poplar and especially in damp riverine environments. It is a large bracket and perennial and so harvesting is relatively simple. Never cut the whole bracket from the tree, instead cut what you need from bracket, the bracket will grow back. You can either dry the pieces for use as they are or cut the tubes away from the fibers and then the crust off the top and form the fiber into a coarse felt. Keep the tubes and crust for drying as they can be used as extender. Soak the fiber and then beat it out to a fine sheet 3-5mm thick and then dry it slowly. Once it is dry foll it between the palm of your hands to make it supple. I mainly use it to extend the use of Amadou or to carry fire.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

This is the type i have found locally, and produced a large section of what i thought was amadou... I know of two spots this grows in abundance, both beech.

Sorry for the poor quality photo's... Taken on a phone at the time!

Phellinus igniarius is not something i have discovered around here then, as i know of some large willow areas in what sounds like the ideal location, but i haven't seen any fungi around the areas!

Regards, TBL.

 

[rancid badger]

Otherwise know as razor strop fungus if i'm right...
Has anyone used it to succsess firelighting? i've just done a search and found it is used to extend an ember, but will t take a spark directly once dried?

Grateful for any advice, TBL.

It will take a spark to flame, if you shred the "meat" once its dry.

I cut one up with a Laplander saw a while back,because it was a bit tough to cut the size bits I was after with a knife( once dry that is)

Anyway, ever curious, I decided to see if the "saw dust" would smoulder and smoke or just burn.
I used the firesteel directly into a pile of the dust and it took flame no trouble at all.
I say "dust" but its pretty coarse when cut with a laplander. I guess you might get similar results, if you used a cheese grater?

I then decided to shave off very thin slivers of the same chunk, about as thick as paper,with a knife and these too, took flame.

Toddy is absolutely right about insects eating this stuff! I had a stash of large ones, nicely dried and about 8-10" across, in a steel ammo box.
I'd more or less forgotten about them, then I opened the box after about 9 months or so, to find that they were reduced to empty shells, with loads of fine powder in the bottom of the box.

There were a load of tiny, dead beetle type insects in there too, so presumably; there were larvae in the fungi when I collected them, which then matured and lived on the fungi, till the food ran out!.

Experimentation is the key with this sort of thing

Tinker, tinker, tinker!

all the best

R.B.

 

[Fin]

Thank you all - I love threads like this. I'm constantly beating myself up over my lack of fungi knowledge and resolving to do something about it.

I knew about the strop/ sticking plaster qualities but I didn't know it could be taken internally to combat various maladies.

Rumi has touched on the method of preparation but my question is one of dosage - how much is too much? And what are the risks - if any - involved in taking it internally?

Fin

 

[iamasmith]

This is the type i have found locally, and produced a large section of what i thought was amadou... I know of two spots this grows in abundance, both beech.

Sorry for the poor quality photo's... Taken on a phone at the time!

Phellinus igniarius is not something i have discovered around here then, as i know of some large willow areas in what sounds like the ideal location, but i haven't seen any fungi around the areas!

Regards, TBL.

That's Ganoderma Applanatum (Artist's Fungus, Artist's Conk) etc. you can mark the white areas with a stick and it produces a brown colour that is darker the harder you press it.

Yes the Trama layer of this fungus can be processed into Amadou. It's hard work though and is not supposed to be as good as Horseshoe without additional processing (Wood Ash boiling/soaking for days, Saltpetre treatment etc.).

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Ahhh... Thanks iamasmith and RB!

The funny thing is, the large section you see above next to the knife had re-grown from a previously harvested fungus, but when i took this, there was only the whiter layer beneath, and a soft peelable shell on top, all be it with an axe. It was no-where near as tough as the fungus it was growing back from, taken previously a few weeks before and is now growing back again from the same original spot.

The whole inner section was the brown mass you see above. It feels like one big chunk of suede.

It also takes a spark with absolutley no preperation, all i did was dry it out for a week or so. It can take a couple of strikes to get it going, but once a spark has caught, it will continue to grow and grow, producing more and more heat, roughly the same sort of reaction as a cramp ball, although slighly slower.

I have no hesitation a fairly small section of this would light a tinder nest. Just thought you might be interested to know!

Regards, TBL.

 

[Rumi]

Phelilinus igniarius growing on a fallen Poplar.

It Grows in the same way.

it was growing back from, taken previously a few weeks before and is now growing back again from the same original spot.